Chapter 205: How Strong is a Tier 3?
How strong was a Tier 3 being?
Just what was even the Tier 3?
Tier 3, also known as Demigod, was the tier where one truly started the journey from mortality to immortality and divinity. Tier 3 is where the mortal body is fused with a mythical essence, which is an element. One could say, you became one with your element. At this level, most didn’t even need spells or chants or whatever to use their element. They were almost their elements, and could control their element completely.
That was why a Tier 3 was referred to as a Demigod. Reaching this level was very difficult. Essentially, it could take a normal person about twenty years, at least fifteen years to reach Tier 3. Even very talented people need about five years to breach the barrier to Tier 3.
A Tier 3... A Demigod.
The moment one stepped into that realm, they stopped being viewed as merely powerful cultivators. They became disasters wrapped in flesh. Walking calamities. Beings capable of altering landscapes simply by existing. And the terrifying thing? Tier 3 was only the beginning of true divinity. The world called it the first real transcendence for a reason.
Before Tier 3, cultivators still resembled mortals. Yes, they could become stronger, faster, tougher, and wield elements with frightening proficiency, but at the end of the day, they were still flesh-and-blood beings using power.
Tier 3 changed that completely. It was the stage where the body itself became a vessel of the element, or more accurately, the element became the body.
This process was known as Body Forgery. Body Forgery was the true foundation of the Demigod realm. At this stage, a cultivator’s element fused into every aspect of their existence: blood, bones, muscles, organs, soul, and even instinct. A fire-element Demigod no longer merely controlled fire: Their blood carried heat. Their breath released embers, their emotions affected temperature itself. Anger could melt stone, a moment of carelessness could ignite forests.
Some became so deeply fused with their elements that conventional attacks no longer affected them properly. Slashing a water-element Demigod could feel like cutting through an ocean current. A wind-element Demigod could disperse their body partially into the air. Earth-element users became nearly indestructible fortresses of living stone and metal.
And then there were the terrifying special elements such as darkness, light, poison, space, and chaos. Those elements became increasingly horrifying the deeper one ascended, because the element stopped being an ability. It became nature itself.
Then came the second hallmark of Tier 3. Elemental Extension. This was where the true fear of Demigods began. At Tier 2, one controlled elements externally. At Tier 3... The world itself obeyed. A Demigod could extend their elemental influence into the environment around them naturally, almost effortlessly. Fire users raised temperatures without meaning to. Water users affected rivers, rain, and moisture in the air. Earth users sensed vibrations across kilometers. Wind users heard conversations carried by the breeze itself. The environment became an extension of their body. Fighting a Tier 3 in a place favorable to their element was considered suicide unless one possessed equal strength.
A desert against a fire-element Demigod? A graveyard against a necromancer? An ocean against a water-element Demigod? Those were not battles: those were executions. Some Tier 3 beings could erase armies without taking a single step. Others could alter weather patterns permanently after prolonged battles. There were even records of Demigods accidentally creating natural disasters simply because they lost emotional control.
And finally... The greatest symbol of Tier 3. Zone Creation.
A Zone, a miniature domain: A territory where the laws of the user’s element became dominant. This was what truly separated Demigods from lower tiers. The average Zone covered roughly one kilometer. Inside it, the Demigod was king... a god.
Within their Zone, their element became overwhelmingly stronger while enemies found themselves suppressed, weakened, or outright rejected by the environment itself. A fire Zone could transform an area into a volcanic hellscape. A darkness Zone could erase light entirely and distort senses. A poison Zone could contaminate the air so thoroughly that weaker beings died simply by breathing. Some rare Zones even affected concepts, and because Zones reflected the cultivator’s understanding and individuality, no two Zones were ever completely alike. A talented Tier 3 could fight hundreds of Tier 2s alone. An exceptional Tier 3 could destroy cities. And monsters among Demigods: Those became legends.
Which was exactly why the situation in Senkeht had become so terrifying, because the colossal beast beneath the dunes displayed traits far beyond Tier 2. Its mere roar carried dominance powerful enough to shake an entire town. Its pressure alone induced despair. The heat around it distorted the environment naturally, and worst of all, it possessed intelligence.
That was the detail Bahamut couldn’t ignore. Beasts below Tier 3 rarely possessed such overwhelming awareness and restraint. They were dangerous, yes, but mostly instinctive. That creature had stopped its attack, not because it was unable to continue, but because something stronger warned it not to. Meaning there was another existence out there, something capable of making a creature of that level retreat, and that possibility was far more terrifying than the beast itself.
Despite all that, Bahamut wasn’t really worried about the battle. The leaders of the town were all Tier 3. They could take care of the two beasts, but his worry was on the horde. They had no idea of what kind of beasts were in the horde or even the number of beasts in the horde. Considering the level of intelligence, the solar wyrm and the unknown Tier 3 beast had shown so far, they couldn’t ignore any possibility. From what he’d learned from the system and the leaders, Tier 3 beings could sense each other from long distances. This begged the question.
Did the Tier 3 beast know it was outnumbered?
If that were the case, it wouldn’t have agreed to the alliance. Which meant that it was either stupid or very confident. If it were the first, then they would be preparing for nothing, but if it were the latter, then they had to be prepared for anything because it was dangerous.
They didn’t even know the element the beast used. If it were one of the basic elements, it would be easy. If it were a special element, it would be a bit difficult, based on what Hakim told the team.
But if it were the dreaded dual or tri elemental?
Only a miracle could save them.
